The Loki I Know and Love
by arrogantEccentricity
Summary: Loki is taken back to Asgard to face justice after being branded as a war criminal. His adoptive brother Thor is convinced he can break through Loki's evil persona and bring him back. Will he succeed, or is Loki gone for good?


Odin is standing in front of me in the throne room. He looks absolutely furious and ready to kill me on the spot. _Let him be angry_. Oh, how I wish I could speak, but this wretched metal thing on my mouth is preventing that. I wish I could tell him how unbelievably hurt I feel. How I'm the rightful king of Asgard, how betrayed I feel from being exiled and branded as a traitor. Alright, maybe I am, but…honestly there is no explanation. Deep inside I regret becoming a villain; yet I couldn't stand to live in Thor's shadow any longer. To have a brother so great, so famous and revered, a great warrior and leader, is hard. It's especially hard when you're nothing like a proper Asgardian, adopted, and a Jotun.

Ever since I was a child, I felt like I wasn't an Asgardian. Asgardians are fair-haired, muscular, and adept in battle. They don't care for magic or literature. I, on the other hand, am dark-haired, wiry, and a marvel in the arcane arts. Don't get me wrong, I loved my adoptive parents and brother. Thor and I were the best of friends, although he was, is, and always will be, a great lumbering oaf. We'd go on imaginary adventures, seeking treasure and glory, and come home laughing and falling over each other. All that changed when I grew tired of being the outcast, the shadow.

It was easy to trick Thor into aggravating the Frost Giants. He's always been a hot-headed fool. What I didn't expect is that I would find out that I, Loki, am also a Frost Giant. That's when Odin told me the truth. My rage was only fueled by that. To me, that was the ultimate betrayal.

"Loki," Odin says, his voice verging on a shout, "Thrice now you have proven to be the ultimate traitor. You will now face Asgardian justice. You shall be thrown into the darkest depths of our dungeons, guarded by the most merciless of our warriors. I will take away your powers and leave you to face an eternity of misery. If you so much as think about escaping, know that I will have you executed. Thor, you are assigned to guard Loki."

"But Father, I cannot do this; I can't bear to see my brother in chains and imprisoned again!" Thor argues. How many times must I tell him that we are not by any means related?

"I am not your brother," I snap, casting a cold look towards Odin, "I never was, and never will be. When are you going to learn that?" Looking at Thor, I see his expression turn from one of anger to one of heart-wrenching sadness. A strangely warm feeling spreads through my body when I realize I really and truly hurt him. Smirking slightly, I look away. Odin calls out for the guards to take me to the dungeons, and within seconds, I'm being hauled away down flight after flight of stairs. Thor is standing to my left, trying to look as strong as possible. I see right through his act. He is deeply hurt by what I said before. _Why doesn't that make me feel happy?_

Once in the dungeons, the first thing I do is observe the area. Dark, cold, unwelcoming, ominous. There are torture devices far in a corner, yet I can see from my position that they are stained with blood, along with the dark stone floor and wall surrounding them. The cells, made entirely of stone save for the door space, are empty, save for the remains of the previous occupants and little furniture. Overall, this is not an entirely desirable place to live in.

The guards literally throw me in the farthest cell to the right, and I slam against the wall. _Bastards._ _I swear, if I could speak right now..._

In the cell directly in front of me is the corpse of a man. I can tell he hasn't been dead for long, judging from the fact that he's still completely intact. What a lovely view…

Suddenly Thor appears. He unlocks the door and steps in cautiously, as if he's being careful not to set me off. He steps towards me and takes off the stupid mouthpiece. There's a moment of tense silence before he takes a long breath. His pale blue eyes (the only thing we ever had in common) are shining with tears. This catches me off guard; I've never seen my brother cry_. Wait, not my brother. He is __not__ my brother. _

"Loki…" He begins. His usually powerful and confident voice is trembling from the effort of choking back sobs. "Why do you do this? Why do you feel the need to kill, to destroy and ruin everything?" Thor is moving closer with every word, and it's making me a bit uncomfortable. I need to gain control of this situation.

"You know exactly why I am the way I am. I was betrayed. I should be the king! Odin never cared about me, he only cared about his _real_ son. Nothing I ever did was good enough for him." I growl. Thor's face is full of concern. Genuine concern. No matter how much I try to deny it, I can't say that he never cared. He is the only one who always stood by and defended me. And even though I despise the entire population of Asgard, somewhere in my cold, emotionless heart I somehow still have…positive feelings about Thor. _Banish them, crush them, get them out of your head. He is the enemy. Use his emotions to get what you want. _

"You are wrong!" Thor is shouting now, "Our father…"

"Your father." I cut him off. He needs to stop referring to Odin as 'our father'. It is making me annoyed.

"Loki, stop this madness!" He's just inches away from me and tears are streaming freely down his face. For a split second I feel terrible, seeing Thor cry like this over me. Honestly, I am not quite sure on how to react. Then my evil instincts kick in.

"I am finished talking to you, Thor. Feel free to escort yourself out." I say calmly. Thor backs away, eyes producing even more tears. We stare at each other for a few seconds, then he slowly walks out, giving me one last grief-stricken look as he locks my cell. That look is like a stab to the heart, and I don't understand why. _Get yourself together. There is no time for such petty matters. Don't think about your emotions._

It dawns on me that not only do I feel angry, but also sad. Terribly sad. I never noticed, but I feel helpless, like I'm about to cry. _No! Don't you dare weep over that moron. He means nothing to you._ And yet…my heart is telling me a different story. This is too much to deal with for one day.

Turning to face the rest of my cell, I sigh. There is nothing much: a pathetic little cot and a table with a chair. Lying on the cot I re-evaluate my entire emotional state. Anger, despair, sadness. Not a hint of genuine happiness. My plan of world domination was foiled by the Avengers, I was exiled from the only home I've ever known, I hurt the only person who honestly cares about me, and I'm still not king of…well anything. Is being a villain really worth it?

_Is it really worth it?_ That thought haunts my mind long after I fall asleep. It seems unreal that someone like me could possibly change their ways completely. I'm not sure what made me think like that, and I'm not sure if I like it. _Are you going mad?! They are all beneath you, you are the true king of Asgard! _ But am I?

"Loki?" The voice makes me jump. Not a lot of people can sneak up on me, least of all Thor, but somehow he managed to do it.

"What do you want, Thor?" I try to sound as annoyed as possible.

"I just came to see if you were awake. Would you like something to eat?" He sounds uncertain.

"No, thank you. Now if you'll excuse me…"

"Listen Loki, I know you feel betrayed. I know you feel all that, but all I want is to talk like we once did. I just want the old Loki back. The Loki I know and love." Wait a moment…love? _Love? _ No one has ever outright told me they…love me. It feels strange to hear it. It doesn't seem right. To my horror, my emotions seem to catch up with me, and my eyes begin to tear up. _Ugh, how embarrassing. _I whirl around to prevent Thor from seeing my stupid tears.

"Are you alright?" He asks me, advancing closer to me.

"Back away from me, Thor." My tone comes out less aggressive than I intended it to be. Thor takes me by the shoulders and turns me around, despite my attempts to shake him off. His eyes widen as he notices my emotional breakdown.

"Loki…are you crying?"

"No. Now let me go."

"You're crying. Why?" He sits down on the cot and pulls me down next to him. This time I don't even bother to put up a fight. In fact, the moment he and I make eye contact, I burst out sobbing. This is humiliating…

"All I wanted was to make Odin proud…" I manage to choke out between sobs. Scratch that, this is _beyond_ humiliating.

"I never felt loved in my entire life! Trying to be as famed as you, as appreciated as you but only getting ridiculed for my magic abilities, being a Jotun, adopted, set apart from the real Asgardians for my looks…it's not fair!" My entire body is shaking from the downpour of bottled-up feelings. All the while Thor is listening quietly, stroking my back softly. This feels nice, to have someone care about you.

"I had no idea you felt that way. I…I'm sorry, Loki." _I'm sorry, Loki. _Never have I heard that before now. Usually it went something like, _'Loki, it's all your fault.' 'Loki, go to your room.' 'Loki, put out that magic before I cut your hand off.'_ That sends me into an even bigger wave of tears. I'm just letting it all out, with my head on Thor's armored chest. After a few minutes of that, he gently pulls me off and gazes at me…lovingly. This both sickens and overjoys me.

"I don't understand why you would still…love me…after all that I've done to you. To Midgard, to the people, to everyone." I say shakily. My voice is not used to crying, therefore it's having problems returning to normal. Thor smiles warmly.

"I always knew that deep inside you were still the man I loved. I refused to give up on that thought. No matter what you did." Wait, he didn't call me 'brother' this time. _The man I loved._ Is Thor…sentimental about me? In a romantic way? As soon as the thought enters my mind, his hand tilts my head up. He gazes into my eyes and…we kiss.

_This isn't happening_. My brain shuts down, my body paralyzes completely, and all I can focus on is the fact that Thor and I are actually doing this. At first my automatic reaction is to pull away, but his left hand is tangled in my hair and pushing me even more into the kiss. I can't even push him away, because I'm totally melting. Thor is better at this than I thought he'd be.

_Just go with it._ I place my hands on his lap and lean forward, giving Thor unspoken permission to go even further if he wants. Apparently he does, since he aggressively flips me over so he's on top on me. This causes me to unwillingly let out a soft little moan. Thor is clearly turned on by this, and thus begins another incredibly heated kiss. I'm getting really into it, to be honest, until…

"Thor! What on Asgard are you doing?" Uh-oh. It's Odin. And he looks positively aggravated. Thor scrambles back up and nearly falls on the floor, and I sit up calmly, looking at Odin straight in the eye. _How do you like me now, you pompous ignorant?_

"Both of you, to the throne room. **Now.**" I can't help but laugh. I have a good idea what's going to happen next. Thor, visibly embarrassed, heads out first, keeping his head low. Instead I keep my head high, giving Odin a smirk as I pass him.

Minutes later we're in the throne room. Thor on the left, I on the right, and Odin seated on his damn throne. He seems livid.

"Now would you like to explain why I found my son and this prisoner getting busy in the dungeons?" I cringe as he emphasizes the _my son and this prisoner_ part. It hurts me. Thor picks up on that and steps forward.

"You will not speak of him in that manner!" He thunders, moving closer to me and putting him arm around my shoulders protectively.

"And why not?" Odin questions with a hint of sarcasm, "This war criminal, a disgrace to Asgard, an outsider. He doesn't belong here, he belongs with the lowest of the lowlifes and deserves to be executed immediately. Give me a good reason of why I should have any respect for him!" Hearing Odin, the man I called father for many years of my life, talk me down like that is painful and makes me blinded with rage, yet I keep my most uncaring face on.

"Because he was once your son." Thor responds, his voice quivering with defiance. "And because I love him. Whatever you do to Loki, you do to me." Odin rises from his seat with a fire burning in his eyes.

"Very well then, I suppose you wouldn't mind being permanently banished from Asgard, would you?"

"So be it." Thor replies. I'm shocked at how peaceful he is being about this. Does he really love me enough to get thrown out of his home world?

"Alright then, it pains me to do this to you my son, but a crime is a crime." I look at Thor, and he gives me a small smile.

"Thor Odinson, Loki Laufeyson, I hereby banish you from Asgard for eternity. Off to Midgard with you!" And with that, he sends us away.

When I wake up, I'm next to Thor, and we're surrounded by trees. I hope it isn't Manhattan, because I doubt the people will give me a warm welcome after destroying most of their precious city. And I don't think Texas is a good location either, what with the Destroyer incident a few years back. But looking farther, I see Stark Tower. Damn, this is Manhattan.

"Thor. Wake up, we're in Midgard." I say, shaking him. He bolts upright, looking around. His gaze lands on Mjolnir.

"Well I'll be damned." He laughs, picking up his hammer (which has had contact with me more than once). I guess Odin had some sense in him when he sent us here, giving Thor is most prized possession.

"Hey Thor, look." I point at Stark Tower and Thor breathes a sigh of relief.

"At least we know where we are." He says. He pulls me in for a warm embrace that lasts quite some time. At last I decide to break the silence.

"Thor…"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad you're with me."

"Me too."

More quiet.

"Thor…"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Loki. I always will."


End file.
